


Confessions

by Shea



Category: Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Confessions, Disapproving Family, Gay Male Character, Homophobia, M/M, Minor Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-07
Updated: 2016-06-07
Packaged: 2018-07-12 21:41:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7123534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shea/pseuds/Shea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Spartos finally decides to tell his father about who he really is. Sharrkan is there throughout it all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Confessions

Spartos stood outside the mahogany door, fiddling with the ends of his worn sweater sleeves. Sharrkan rested a hand on his shoulder, a comforting gesture, but one that twisted his insides even worse. He was grateful his friend had come with him, and yet, he almost wish he hadn't. It had been Sharrkan to convince Spartos to tell his father; Sharrkan who had stayed beside him, and offered to go with him; Sharrkan, who had friend-zoned him without even meaning to. It wasn't like he _knew_ Spartos had feelings for him. He knew he was gay, sure. Sharrkan and Mystras were the only ones to know so far. And soon, if he didn't get cold feet, so would his father.

Sharrkan had had to more or less worm it out of Spartos. When he finally told one of his closest friends, he was in hysterics; tears flowing down his puffy, red face, and his lips swollen and red from crying and breathing so hard. But Sharrkan hadn't sneered at him in disgust and ran away, like he was expecting. No, Sharrkan knelt beside him on the floor of his own bedroom, and hugged him. It was a gentle embrace, full of protectiveness and comfort. Spartos was aware of his feelings for the baseball player by that time, and such an embrace made his chest hurt with want. But he knew his place, and knew Sharrkan was into women. He was _known_ for being around and dating several girls at school, after all. Some even from college! And yet.. Spartos was drawn to him. Maybe it was that playboy charm. Or the way his green eyes lit up with excitement and passion whenever he spoke about baseball or something he liked. Or how he was always the first one to stand up for somebody in need, and the first one to volunteer when Spartos needed help. Whatever the case, Spartos had fallen for this womanizing player. And hard.

Now, he was mentally readying himself to reveal the big secret to his father. Not his actual feelings, of course. Just his sexuality. There would be no grandchildren from him, at least not biologically. There'd be no fancy, traditional wedding. Spartos hoped to whatever gods there may be that he would still have those things, a husband and a family. By all means, he wanted those things- just not with any women. He wanted to be happy. He didn't want to have to lie to keep his father happy. Mystras and Sharrkan still loved him for who he was- why wouldn't his own father?

Sharrkan's hand slid down to his upper arm, just above his elbow, and gave a gentle squeeze. "Are you ready?"

Spartos glanced at him, at his sparkling eyes filled with concern, and nodded. "Yes.. Let's.. Let's go." He said and with a spurt of determination, knocked three times on his father's office door.

"Enter." Came the one-worded, monotonous command. Spartos complied, and opened the heavy door.

The smell of scotch and ink invaded his nostrils. He wasn't sure why his father's office always smelled like alcohol; his father would only drink on Sundays, and even then it was just _one_ shot glass. It was against their religions, everything his father based their lives off of, to drink any more. Surely, that wasn't enough to make such a difference. But apparently, it was.

Darius Leoxses was seated at his desk, his reading glasses sitting on the bridge of his nose as his dull, grey eyes scanned over the pages of some document. His desk was littered with several papers and ink pens. His laptop sat on the corner to his right, the screen lit up with a half-written email. The bookcase behind him was full of books Spartos and Mystras used to try and decipher when they were still just kids. Papers stuck out from random spots. Any empty spaces were taken up with random trinkets. One of which, Spartos noted, was a clay toucan he'd made in kindergarten. The sight made the corners of his mouth twitch up just slightly.

"Father," He said as he walked further into the room, making sure Sharrkan followed. "I'd like to speak with you."

He wasn't sure why he was always so formal with his own dad. Maybe it was the fact his father was the CEO of a big company. Or his stoic, intimidating aura. At any rate, Spartos was so used to it, he hardly noticed unless Sharrkan or one of their other friends looked at him strangely.

Whatever document he'd been reading, Darius put it down and removed his glasses to look at his son. "What is it, then?" He spoke as if he had better things to do with his time.

Spartos froze. He'd prepared some words in his head before he'd even entered the room, and had been mentally rehearsing them the whole time. But as soon as those eyes looked at him, he clammed up. It wasn't until Sharrkan gave his arm another gentle squeeze did he seem to come back.

"Um, well.." He started lamely, once again playing with the ends of his sleeves. "It.. It has to do with my, er, relationship status, which you brought up the other day."

Darius nodded slowly, leaning back in his seat. "I see. Did you finally find a girlfriend?"

"Um, well, no." Spartos glanced at the floor between his feet. He suddenly wanted to turn and run, afraid of his father's reaction. Afraid of getting yelled at, and kicked out; disowned.

"...." The elder redhead went silent for a few moments, his eyes sliding back and forth between the two teenagers in front of him. "You don't mean to tell me you're dating _this_ guy, Spartos?"

"What?" Spartos' immediate reaction was to glance at Sharrkan, who seemed equal parts shocked and offended. He could feel his face flushing and hoped there wasn't any steam rolling off his face. "No! I- I am _not_ dating Sharrkan." His heart constricted slightly at admitting the words aloud; like they were set in stone.

"Well then, what're you saying, boy?" His tone turned to annoyance rather than boredom, and Spartos flinched despite himself.

"Father, I.. you should know that.. Um.." He shut his eyes for a moment, bit the inside of his lip, and then, with a surge of confidence, blurted out, "You should know that I'm gay."

One second. Two seconds. Then it was ten seconds, and thirty seconds. Complete silence. Spartos didn't trust himself to look at his father, lest he have that look of disgust and disappointment. His hands wrung together. His heart felt like it would jump out of his throat. His eyes burned with the threat of tears. His brain was flooded with imaginations of everything that would go wrong. And yet, all his thoughts kept gravitating toward Sharrkan; his reaction to him being cast out by his father. Maybe if he saw how his father reacted to him, he'd realize that he was disgusting and leave as well. Or maybe this was all a prank and Sharrkan would make fun of him at school.

He was snapped out of his depressing and anxious thoughts when his father finally moved. He rested an elbow on his desk, his hand pinching the bridge of his nose. "What kind of disgusting joke is this? Did you get this preposterous idea from this boy?" He motioned to Sharrkan.

Spartos was shocked. Out of all the situations he'd thought up, this was not one of them. His father thought he was joking? He was frozen once again, this time in just shock.

"I don't want to intrude on family matter stuff," Sharrkan said, stepping forward. He held Spartos' arm again, this time a little bit higher than his wrist. "But I didn't persuade him to do anything like that. Spartos really _is_ into other men."

"Do _not_ speak for my son. Especially when you're coming up with stupid things like that. No son of mine is _gay_." He spat the word out like it was a deadly STD.

"But Father, I.. really am.." Spartos finally found his voice again, albeit quietly. "I really am gay."

"No, I refuse-"

"You cannot simply refuse who I am!" Spartos cried. "I _am_ gay! I _am_ into other men! I will _never_ love a woman, no matter how pretty, or how much she's like me. I _will_ love a man- even if it's not who I love now! No matter what you say, Father, it is _fact_. Mystras has already accepted it."

He hadn't the foggiest idea where that came from, but he was glad he finally said what had been sitting in his heart for a while. He felt like a load had been lifted off of his chest. Sharrkan flashed him a quick, encouraging and proud smile. It made Spartos instantly happier.

Up until his father lashed out and threw everything off his desk. The lamp landed at Spartos' feet in a commotion of shattering glass, and a quick spark of light before the room was dark. Spartos instinctively reached out to grab Sharrkan's hand, suddenly afraid one of them were hurt- or would fixing to be. But Darius only muttered an angry "Get out" and otherwise remained still.

Spartos didn't need to be told twice. He started making his way out of the room, taking Sharrkan with him, when his father's voice stopped him again. "Get out of my house, and don't return, until you've gotten that _nonsensical_ idea out of your head." He practically spat.

Once again, that heavy weight returned to his whole body. Suddenly, he felt like Atlas, having to support the weight of the world with only his own body. His father didn't want him anymore. He'd so _simply_ turned him away, like he was garbage. He supposed he was, if his own father didn't love him. Tears gathered behind his eyelids, his breath hitched, his heart rate erratic. He left the house, though. Without even stopping by his room. He'd let go of Sharrkan and marched away.

He stopped in the front yard, however. Where was he to go now? He felt hopeless, stupid, _monstrous_. Up until Sharrkan returned, yet again. His light at the end of this dark, stupidly long tunnel. "You okay?" He asked gently.

"Do I _look_ okay?" Spartos asked bitterly, turning away from him.

"Well.. Okay, what can I do to help?"

"Nothing." Spartos shook his head. "You can't convince him to love me. If he does not want to accept me, then.. so be it." Even as he said it though, the tears started spilling and before he knew it, he was sobbing. Sharrkan frowned at him and wrapped him in another hug. This time, Spartos clung to him. He sobbed into his shoulder, messing up his shirt with tears.

It seemed like forever until he cried his throat cry, his eyes burning. Sharrkan rubbed his back before taking a half-step away. "Come with me." He said, grabbing his hand and dragging him down the street.

"Where.. Where are we going?" The redhead asked, voice hoarse from crying.

"My house." Sharrkan replied like it should've been obvious. "You can stay in our guest room."

"Oh.. You don't have to do that." Spartos tried, rubbing his eyes.

"You have anywhere else to stay?"

Spartos elected not to answer. Sharrkan grinned at him confidently as he continued taking him home. He gave his hand another squeeze, and Spartos found himself squeezing back. The town was somewhat quiet in the late hours of the afternoon. Most people were home from work, and were probably eating dinner with their families. Spartos thought bitterly of how he'd never experienced an actual dinner with his family. He and Mystras always ate alone in their room, or the living room. Their father always had things to work on, and their mother.. Well, she was an angel in the ground, now.

 _Mom_.. _I_ _wonder_ _if_ _I've_ _disappointed_ _you_ _too_. He thought in the back of his mind, glancing up at the orange-and-purple sky. _Would_ _you_ _still_ _love_ _me_.. _even_ _though_ _I'm_ _gay?_

"So," Sharrkan spoke, snatching his attention away before he could rouse himself into another anxiety attack. "Who are you in love with now?"

"What..?" Spartos blinked, his face flushing once again.

"I said, who are you in love with now? When you were talking to your dad, telling him how it is, you said something like 'I'll love a man, even if it's not who I love now'. So who is he?"

"I.." Spartos shook his head. "I was making it up. I just.. wanted to make him see.."

"Liar. Is it someone I know?"

Spartos didn't answer, only shook his head again. "Sharrkan, drop it. Please."

"Is it me?"

His heart stopped. He forced himself to stop walking and ripped his hand out of Sharrkan's grasp. He stared at the concrete, his left hand holding his right arm. He felt like he would faint any second. This was too much; confessing to his father, and now to Sharrkan. But how could he so blatantly deny it right to him? Sharrkan could obviously tell when he was lying.

He saw the other's feet approach and then felt his body lurch forward. Sharrkan had pulled him close by the arm, his free hand angling his head upward. Spartos found his gaze snatched up greedily by Sharrkan's, and then he was too close to really see. But he was close enough to feel; to feel his lips on his. He was so shocked, he went rigid in Sharrkan's grasp. The hand that was holding his arm snaked around his waist, and his thumb gently stroked his jawline. But Spartos' arms stayed glued to his sides, his lips frozen.

Sharrkan eventually broke away, a little grin on his face. "It's me, isn't it?"

"It.. I.. What-" Spartos stammered.

Sharrkan only chuckled and tugged him closer, if at all possible. "I've kinda noticed for a while, now. But I didn't want to say anything. I'm glad you love me too, though."

"I.. You.." Spartos' head was still spinning before it narrowed down to those words: love me too. "You- Wait.. You mean _you_ love _me_?"

Sharrkan nodded, his expression suddenly deadly serious. "Have been for about a year now. I just.. know this kind romance-y stuff makes you uncomfortable. But after today, you were.. so brave, and it was great to see you stick it to your old man. And I wanted you to feel _some_ sort of happiness, and like someone wanted you. Even if you didn't reciprocate my feelings. But," He grinned once again. "You do."

"I.. I do.." Spartos nodded, still dazed and confused. "Um.. kiss me again?"

Sharrkan laughed, a good hearty laughed that suddenly made Spartos' world a whole much better. Even if his father disowned him, and cast him out. Even if he'd be looked down upon in society and other placed for being gay. At least Sharrkan loved him back. At least Sharrkan and he were happy together, like this. These thoughts ran through his mind over and over, lifting the heavy weight off his body once again, as Sharrkan pressed sweet kisses to his lips again and again.

 


End file.
